DNA on Trial
Grades 9-12

Students will understand:
· That DNA fingerprinting can be used to eliminate a suspect from a
crime.
· The controversy around using DNA as legal grounds in the American
court system.
· How probability of an event is determined.

ACTIVITY #1

Explain to students that each individual organism has it's own specific
combination of DNA. In fact, the information is so specific that these
"fingerprints"
are used in courts of law to prove or disprove the guilt of certain
suspects.Direct
students to brainstorm how DNA fingerprinting might be used in a variety
of fields: example - protection of wildlife, determining hereditary
disease,
guilt or innocence in a court of law. Use the GREEN MEANS video to
introduce
applications of DNA fingerprinting.
ACTIVITY #2

Ask students if it is possible to prove the innocence of a suspect based
solely on the DNA evidence.

ACTIVITY#1PLAY the 4 minute video "Crimes Against Nature" from the
beginning. Instruct students to focus on how DNA is used by the Federal
Fish and Game Department. They should record this information in their
journals.
(DNA fingerprints are used to prove that a certain animal was poached
from
Clint Eastwood's land.)

ACTIVITY#2SHOW the first 20 minutes of NOVA: Murder, Rape and DNA which
involves
a father who is accused of the rape of his daughter. DNA samples from him
and evidence (semen) do not match.Therefore, he is eliminated as the
suspect.

ACTIVITY #3SHOW the video College Algebra #26: Probability. Segmented
viewing:
Tape should be cued to the segment about finding somebody with the same
birth date. (Eight minutes into tape.) This is a good explanation of
probability.
PAUSE the tape. Ask students to predict the results in their
class.
Then survey the class for shared birth dates.

ACTIVITY #1
Review students' responses. Student challenge: Can a single fingerprint
prove that there is an exact match between two samples? (The answer is
NO,
because each sample is simply a minuscule part of an organism's genome.
A human's is 60 feet long when extended. Scientists look at a portion
less
than .25 inch at the most.)
Discuss any other instances or cases in which DNA has been used as
evidence.
ACTIVITY #2

Compare the results in both videos. Discuss how it takes ONLY ONE sample
location that does not match to eliminate a suspect.
Ask students if they could guess how many matching samples it might take
to prove guilt. Lead a discussion of the probability of an event.
ACTIVITY #3

Review the fundamentals of probability, giving examples of coin tossing.
For example, what is the probability that two coins tossed simultaneously
will be TT? (1/2 times 1/2 = 1/4)
Ask again, how one would determine if matching DNA samples would prove
somebody's
guilt? How many samples would have to match?
Explain that this is the exact question that many legal courts are
wrestling
with right now. The type of testing (PCR or RFLP makes a big difference.)
You may want to have students read "How DNA Fingerprinting
Works,"
an excerpt from an article from the November, 1994 issue of Popular
Science,
to help explain the difference.
Unfortunately, there is disagreement between probability of matches. For
example, the probability of two matches between two blacks is greater
than
that between a Black and an Asian.
MATH CALCULATIONS

Given the probability of an event occurring is a product of each
individual
event, what would the probability be that there would be a match between
two samples if the probability of each of five matches for RFLP testing
was:
1. 1 in 2 (1/2 to the 5th power, or 1/32)
2. 1 in 5 (1/5 to the 5th power, or 1/3125)
3. 1 in 10 (1/10 to the 5th power, or 1/100,000)
4. 1/15 (1/15 to the 5th power, or 1/759,375)
5. 1/25 (1/25 to the 5th power, or 1/9,765,625)
Cited range of the probabilities for RFLP analysis's is one in tens of
thousands
to one in hundreds of thousands, or even millions for five locations to
match. Ask students to calculate the probability of each individual match
for the following:
6. five matches = 1 in 1,000 (about 1/4 each event)
7. five matches = 1 in 33,000 (about 1/8 each event)
8. five matches = 1 in 250,000 (about 1/12 each event)
9. five matches = 1 in 760,000 (about 1/15 each event)
10. five matches = 1 in 1,800,000 (about 1/18 each event)
11. five matches = 1 in 3,200,000 (about 1/20 each event)

FAST FORWARD tape where explanations are given as to how to
determine
the probability of an event. (Number of positive outcomes/number of total
outcomes.) PAUSE tape and relate this discussion to DNA use as
evidence.
Next, SHOW the segment where the probability of an event
consisting
of numerous events = probability of each event times each other.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Discuss which probabilities would be acceptable in a court of law to
alone prove guilt. (Remember, other evidence frequently enters into the
trial. DNA alone may not be necessary to prove guilt.)

2. Discuss how other circumstances, such as the source of the samples
(general
population, Blacks, Whites, Asians, etc.) will change these
probabilities.

3. Discuss what needs to be done in order to determine a number where
probability
can be used to prove guilt (standardized tests of each ethnic group, or
standardizing the gene pool sample by location, for example.)

4. Discuss how much of the human genome is actually being sampled (very
small portion) and why more samples cannot be taken. (It is a difficult
procedure finding these sites within the whole genome.)

5. Discuss the highly technical and complicated nature of this science,
and how universal agreement as to interpretation of results is not
determined.

· Connect with an on-line service to investigate current DNA
technology.
Use keywords such as DNA and biotechnology. Is it possible to test more
sample locations? Genentech has a service on America OnLine.
· Using the on-line service, investigate how our legal system uses
DNA fingerprinting in courts. AOL keywords would include Court TV, CNN,
forensic science, reference desks and DNA. Under "Court" there
are current rulings on DNA standards that various courts are presently
following.
· Students can experience an interview with a real-life Forensic
Scientist
by visiting NewsMaker on the World Wide Web. Dr. Bruce Weir, noted DNA
expert
from the OJ Simpson trial, is interviewed on some of the most asked
questions
stemming from "The Trial of the Century". Questions which
students
can answer from the interview include:
1. Where does DNA evidence come from?
2. What is the difference between PCR and RFLP methods of DNA
profiling?
3. What statistical techniques are used to confirm the reliability of DNA
evidence?
4. What role does race and ethnicity play in the accuracy of DNA
evidence?
5. What is the effect of human error in the preparation of DNA
evidence?
6. Why is the validity of DNA forensics and the statistical accuracy of
DNA profiling in question?